Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida Businessmen Implicated in Armor Holdings Kickback Scandal
Armor Holdings started out making bullet proof vests in Yulee, Florida and grew within fifteen years to a large multinational company with sales of $2.4 billion. It was twice named by Forbes Magazine as one of the nation's fastest growing companies, and was sold in 2007 for $4.5 billion.
Despite the outward appearance of success, FBI investigators are now saying that prior to the 2007 sale, company executives engaged in illegal exports, bribery, kickbacks, and sale of faulty equipment to the military. The investigation got underway when an Armor Holdings executive who was charged with various crimes agreed to work with the FBI and helped the agency gather evidence that led to the arrest of twenty two other executives, including a former president and former CEO of Armor Holdings.
Richard T. Bistrong of Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida was formerly the vice president of international sales for Armor Holdings, and to date is the only individual who has been charged with wrongdoing while at the company. He is the executive who aided the FBI in its investigation. As part of the investigation, Bistrong met with several military and law enforcement supply executives and asked them to add kickbacks to proffered contracts. Twenty-two others allegedly agreed to the deals as well.
The arrests and charges represent the first under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which went into effect in 1977. The law forbids Americans from making payments to foreign officials in exchange for favorable treatment. Find out more about this story at Jacksonville company's shady dealings spanned globe, authorities say.
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